Category: The Book Fort

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
Current Reads:

• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Fangirl Life by Kathleen Smith
• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

 

Finished:

• Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

 

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 23 out of 51

Total pages read: 576

Total # of books for the year: 28.  I’m late with this post because it’s Memorial Day; one of the darkest days of the year for me.  It’s not a “happy” day and I don’t “celebrate” it because the definitions of those words don’t match up with what this day means.  Instead, I stay off the internet to avoid all the attempts at patriotism and photos and videos that rip my heart into pieces even more than this day already does.  I don’t go to cookouts or pool parties or waste money on useless crap that is on sale during a day when most people don’t have to work.  Instead, I remember the soldiers I knew personally who were killed while in Iraq or Afghanistan and the funerals I attended for those who came back but couldn’t get those places out of their heads.  I also practice a lot of self-care.  I’ll be back later this week.

What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Current Reads:

• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
• The Fangirl Life by Kathleen Smith

 

Finished:

• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

 

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 21 out of 51

Total pages read: 479

Total # of books for the year: 26.  I’ve still got 5 reviews to write, and I’m hoping to have them posted before #COYER and my Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge start.  Normally, I would think that wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m still struggling to find enough free moments I can string together to concentrate on a single piece of writing.  While some people can start and stop writing a blog post as other things demand their attention, I’ve found that I’m at my best when I write a review in one go.  Otherwise, I can’t remember what I wanted to write and I wind up staring at the screen in confusion.  What book was that?  Why did I enjoy it?  DID I enjoy it?  What do these chicken scratches in my book journal mean? *sigh*  Hopefully signing up for the Infomagical challenge will help.  Thanks, Andi, for mentioning it!

What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
Current Reads:

• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
• The Fangirl Life by Kathleen Smith

 

Finished:

• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

 

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 21 out of 51

Total pages read: 479

Total # of books for the year: 26.  I’ve still got 5 reviews to write, and I’m hoping to have them posted before #COYER and my Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge start.  Normally, I would think that wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m still struggling to find enough free moments I can string together to concentrate on a single piece of writing.  While some people can start and stop writing a blog post as other things demand their attention, I’ve found that I’m at my best when I write a review in one go.  Otherwise, I can’t remember what I wanted to write and I wind up staring at the screen in confusion.  What book was that?  Why did I enjoy it?  DID I enjoy it?  What do these chicken scratches in my book journal mean? *sigh*  Hopefully signing up for the Infomagical challenge will help.  Thanks, Andi, for mentioning it!

What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Current Reads:

• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
• The Fangirl Life by Kathleen Smith

 

 

Finished:

• Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea by Diana Marcellas
• Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Emissary by Thomas Locke
• Billy Lovecraft Saves the World by Billy Lovecraft

  

 

DNF:

• Escape From Netherworld by David Kuklis
• Sadie Sugarspear and the Weeping Willow by Nicole Arlyn

 

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 20 out of 51

Total pages read: 1285

Total # of books for the year: 25.  I’ve got a lot of reviews to write, thanks to Bout of Books 16 🙂

My Top Commenter: Thank you to everyone who stopped by during Bout of Books or to cheer me on for #FitReaders 🙂

What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
Current Reads:

• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty
• The Fangirl Life by Kathleen Smith

 

 

Finished:

• Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea by Diana Marcellas
• Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
• Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• Emissary by Thomas Locke
• Billy Lovecraft Saves the World by Billy Lovecraft

  
 
DNF:

• Escape From Netherworld by David Kuklis
• Sadie Sugarspear and the Weeping Willow by Nicole Arlyn

 

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 20 out of 51

Total pages read: 1285

Total # of books for the year: 25.  I’ve got a lot of reviews to write, thanks to Bout of Books 16 🙂
My Top Commenter: Thank you to everyone who stopped by during Bout of Books or to cheer me on for #FitReaders 🙂
What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Current Reads:

• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea by Diana Marcellas
• Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

  

 

DNF:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – I just couldn’t handle this kind of story right now.  I might try again someday.

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 15 out of 51

Total pages read: 227

Total # of books for the year: 20.  I’m in the process of reworking my daily routine to prioritize what is most important to me.  I’m trying once again to save the bulk of my email reading and use of social media to Saturdays so that I can use my breaks at work for exercising and the little bit of free time after work for writing and reading.  So far, I’ve only implemented using my breaks to go walking, since Bout of Books starts today.  Next week might be a little light on posts since I won’t be writing anything except my daily updates this week, but after that, I hope to have at least one review posted.

What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
Current Reads:

• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea by Diana Marcellas
• Let’s Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson

  

 

DNF:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – I just couldn’t handle this kind of story right now.  I might try again someday.

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 15 out of 51

Total pages read: 227

Total # of books for the year: 20.  I’m in the process of reworking my daily routine to prioritize what is most important to me.  I’m trying once again to save the bulk of my email reading and use of social media to Saturdays so that I can use my breaks at work for exercising and the little bit of free time after work for writing and reading.  So far, I’ve only implemented using my breaks to go walking, since Bout of Books starts today.  Next week might be a little light on posts since I won’t be writing anything except my daily updates this week, but after that, I hope to have at least one review posted.
What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Current Reads:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – for the Classic Club Spin.
• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea by Diana Marcellas

  

 

Finished:

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 15 out of 51

Total pages read: 461

Total # of books for the year: 20.  It looks like I’m mostly out of my blogging slump.  I’ve even got a surprise planned for the Summer that you’ll get to find out more about later this month.  Now I just need to get back into writing reviews and coming up with other posts for the weekends again.

What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.
Current Reads:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – for the Classic Club Spin.
• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
• Mother Ocean, Daughter Sea by Diana Marcellas

  

 

Finished:

• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 15 out of 51

Total pages read: 461

Total # of books for the year: 20.  It looks like I’m mostly out of my blogging slump.  I’ve even got a surprise planned for the Summer that you’ll get to find out more about later this month.  Now I just need to get back into writing reviews and coming up with other posts for the weekends again.
What are you reading this week?

“Monday’s Minutes” is a weekly post in which I track my bookish life.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

Current Reads:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – for the Classic Club Spin.
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – for the #FanspeakTheRing Read-Along.
• Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
• The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice – for the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge.
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

  

 

Finished:

• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
• Parnassus On Wheels by Christopher Morley

  

DNF:

• The Dragon Stone Trilogy by Kristian Alva

Challenges:

• Show Your Shelves Some Love: 15 out of 51

Total pages read: 505

Total # of books for the year: 19.  As much as I loved participating in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon, it wasn’t quite as fun for me as previous ones, and that has nothing to do with the wonderful and amazing people who organize and run the event.  It was entirely my fault.  I was concentrating so much on trying to get back into a reading groove, thinking that’s why I’ve been feeling so meh lately, that I didn’t even consider that it was the social aspect of blogging and readathoning that I’ve been missing.  I miss sharing my experiences with and my undying love of books with all of you.  However, every time I manage to find a little bit of time to sit down and write a review, I suddenly find myself uninterested and coming up with all the million other things I need to do.  Is this a blogging slump?!  If it is, then wow, does it suck.

Last year, I took time off because I was finishing my last semester of college and freaking out.  Earlier this year, I took time off because I had finally found a full-time job and I was freaking out.  Last month and most of this month, I took time off because I was in the middle of moving and was… freaking out.  Are you sensing a pattern?  Even though I’m freaking out about this, I’m not going to take more time off.  At least, not as long as I have recently.  Also, though it will look the same to all of you wonderful readers of my blog, it will be different.  Instead of taking a break and not writing anything, I’m going to take the next week or so to get organized again, plan, and write drafts.  Instead of being inactive, I’m going to be proactive.  You just won’t see the results until I start posting all those reviews and other things that I loved writing before this slump took my blogging mojo.

My Top Commenter: Vicky @ Books and Strips

What are you reading this week?